#protective jake

"I...I d....don't think I w...want to g...go in there, Robbie," you say, tripping over your words as your breathing starts to get heavy.

"It's gonna be okay, y/n/n, you're gonna be just fine," Robert says again, pulling you into a tight hug in which you manage to get your breathing under control, "it's just gonna be Nat and some of my squad, we'll have our own table and you don't have to talk to anyone else for the entire night if you want."

Robert can see the exact moment when you make the decision to come into the bar, the spark of curiosity lighting in your eyes at the mention of your brother's co-pilot. You had met Natasha "Phoenix" Trace shortly after your brother's squadron had been permanently assigned to the San Diego base, where you had been working as a kindergarten teacher for the on-base school for the past two years. Being so close to your brother again has been so fun, with the two of you hanging out in every spare moment you had.

The two of you had grown up very close, with Robert being the protective older brother (by three minutes, you had always been quick to whisper sarcastically under your breath whenever he had tried to pull rank) to your quiet, unconfrontational manner.

"Are you ready to go in, or do you need a minute?" Robert asks, hand coming up to rest on the top of your head.

"I...I'm ready," you say, reaching out to tug on your brother's arm and follow after him as he puts his arm around your shoulders and steers you toward the entrance to the bar, under the shining sign reading THE HARD DECK.

Immediately, the noise of the bar makes you flinch and Robert's arm around your shoulders squeezes slightly, and you turn to look at him, finding him already looking at you, asking you if you're okay with his eyes.

You nod at him and tap on his hand, which he lets fall off of your shoulder as he nods towards a booth near the back of the bar, situated right by a pool table. You drop slightly behind him as you follow, preferring to take in your new surroundings from your slightly hidden vantage point behind your brother.

"Bob!" A voice calls from the direction of the table, and you peek slightly around your brother's shoulder to watch as a tall blonde man with the most beautiful smile you've ever seen saunters up to Robert and swings an arm around his shoulders, pulling him forward into a light headlock. You watch, slightly frozen as your brother laughs and fake punches the new man in the stomach, causing him to release Robert, and take a step back, hands going to his hips, stance relaxed as he smiles.

You're so entranced with watching your brother and his pretty friend that you don't notice Natasha coming up on your right, holding a glass of sparkling water in one hand.

"Hey, Y/n," she says softly, just loud enough for you to hear, but not so loud as to startle you.

You turn to look at her, and the first real smile of the night graces your lips.

"Hi Nat," you say, voice quiet as she smiles. She gently holds out the glass of sparkling water to you.

"For you!"

You look down and take the drink from her, thanking her shyly as she smiles at you and tips her head towards the booth, inviting you to go sit with her.

You glance at your brother, finding him already watching you, the tiniest gleam of pride in his eyes as he nods encouragingly. You smile and as you’re turning back to Nat, your eyes meet those of the man who had greeted your brother. He’s looking at you, not staring so much as just observing, and you shiver a little under the the intensity of his green eyed gaze.

Taking a tiny leap of faith, that has your stomach whooshing from the unfamiliarity of it all, you shoot the stranger a shy smile, before quickly ducking your head and sitting down next to your friend.

Much later, you’ve loosened up enough to laugh a little with Nat, who has been sitting with you at the table since you’d arrived. You have even met some of your brothers other pilot friends, including the first guy who had approached the two of you. You’ve learned that his name was Jake, but everyone calls him Hangman. You haven’t had the courage to ask why they call him that, but you noticed your eyes straying to the tall blonde more times than you care to admit. He just has this aura around him that makes you gravitate towards him, although your anxiety won’t let you do more than watch from afar.

“Hey, I’m gonna run to the ladies room, are you good here for a bit?” Nat asks you, scooting out of the booth and standing, waiting near the head of the table. You smile, nodding as you wave her away, scooting out of the booth as well.

“Yeah, I’m gonna g…go get another drink, I think,” you say and Nat nods, before heading towards the back of the bar.

You watch her go for a second, then glance around to spot your brother in the middle of a game of pool with one of his friends, Coyote, you remember.

You steal yourself and then make your way through the crowded space, ducking between people until you stand at an open space at the bar.

You watch as the pretty bartender, smiles at the brown haired man she was talking to, who you remember is called Maverick, before making her way over to you.

“Hey, can I grab you a refill?” The woman asks, nodding to the empty glass in your hand.

“Um y…yes pl….please,” you say, stuttering through your words.

The woman’s smile puts you a little bit more at ease, as she asks what you’re drinking.

“Just sp…sparkling w….water.”

The woman nods at you and takes the cup from you. As she uses the soda spout to refill your glass, she introduces herself as Penny, the owner of the Hard Deck.

“We don’t usually get a lot of new customers this time of year,” she says, pushing the newly full glass back towards you, “are you new to town, or just passing through?”

Something about the way she seems so at ease puts you immediately at ease, and you only trip over your words once as you answer, voice getting a little stronger with each word.

“I live about t…ten minutes away, and my brother is in the Navy, he was just recently assigned here. I don’t usually go out by myself, but he asked me to meet some of his friends here tonight.”

“If you don’t mind my asking, who’s your brother?” Penny inquires.

“Um Robert Floyd? You’d probably know him as Bob.”

You wave a hand in the direction of your brother. Penny nods, turning back to you with a smile.

“Well you are always welcome at the Hard Deck! I didn’t catch your name, dear.”

You give your name, and Penny smiles at you once more, before heading off to help another customer.

You look down at your glass to hide the small smile that plays across your lips at the idea that you just met someone without the buffer of your brother.

You’re so caught up in your own head as you make your way back through the tables, you don’t notice the man until it’s too late.

A body slams into yours from the front, causing your water to splash over your hands and down your front as you stumble backwards. Just as you feel yourself falling, a warm presence appears at your back, steadying you with an arm around your shoulders as another pushes out in front of you. The tan hand shoves the man who had hit you, sending him away from you with such a force that he staggers before righting himself.

You look up at the person who saved you, only slightly surprised to see Jake already staring down at you, concern apparent in his gorgeous green eyes.

“What the fuck man?!” The man who had shoved you says loudly, causing you to jump slightly and subconsciously move in closer to Jake’s side.

“Watch where you’re going!” Jake’s voice holds the slightest hint of anger and you instinctively deflate a bit as you open your mouth to apologize.

“Not you, sweets,” Jake says, unknowingly making your heart flutter wildly in your chest at the name, “you did nothing wrong.”

Jake’s hand smooths over your shoulder, as he glares at the other man. The guy scoffs and looks around, as if making sure he doesn’t have an audience, before swinging his glare back to you and Jake.

“Um, I didn’t do anything wrong here! She was the one not looking where she was going!” He accuses, gesturing at you and making you shrink even further into Jake’s side, shame rising when you feel your eyes start to burn with tears.

“You’re gonna want to watch how you speak to her, jackass.”

Jake’s voice is so hard that the guy visibly blanches, and not so subtly takes a step back and away from the angry pilot at your side.

“Apologize to her for spilling her drink, and then fuck right off.” Jake commands, and the guy mutters the quietist apology you’ve ever heard and then disappears into the crowd.

Jake’s hand strokes over your shoulder one more time and then it’s gone. You turn to look up at the man who had come to your rescue, and Jake gently smiles down at you.

“You alright, y/n?” He asks, gaze sweeping quickly over the front of your dress, clearly soaked through from your spilled water, before flicking back up to your face.

“I….I’m o…okay,” you stutter, shame rising at the idea of this handsome man seeing you so humiliated, “th…thank y…you for rescuing m…me.”

“It’s no trouble, sweets,” Jake says easily, swinging his big green jacket off of his shoulders and draping it over your form.

“What do you need?” He asks, once you’ve settled into the material, hiding your soaked dress, noticing your eyes darting around quickly.

Jake’s niece is a shy little thing who has many of the same tendencies that Jake has recognized in you throughout the evening as he watched you sitting with Phoenix. He saw the way your natural tendency is to roll your shoulders forward slightly and curl in on yourself, your hair falling forward to hide that beautiful face from the world.

You stand staring at him in shock for a few seconds, before mentally shaking yourself.

“I’m o…okay, just maybe to sit back down,” you say, and Jake nods, guiding you back over to the booth.

“Wait right here, I’m gonna go grab you another soda water, and then we’ll just sit here until everyone’s ready to go, okay?” Jake asks as you sit down. You nod at him, playing with your fingers as you wait. Once you hear him walk away, you glance up and survey the bar, spotting Nat and your brother engaged in a pool game with Coyote and Rooster watching on.

You shuffle yourself a little deeper into Jake’s jacket, and close your eyes for a few moments, breathing deeply to let the shocking encounter roll off your shoulders.

“You doing okay, y/n/n?” Robert asks as he slides into the booth next to you. You smile up at him, letting your head fall on his shoulder as his arm comes up to rest over your shoulders.

“Yeah, I’m good.” You feel your lips pull up into a smile as you watch Jake lean against the bar and chat with Penny and Maverick, while Penny pours another sparkling water.

“Good.” Your brother is smiling at you when you turn your head to look at him. You grin back, and then let your head drop back onto his shoulder, waiting for Jake to come back with your drink and letting yourself relax into the evening. You might have been anxious going into this evening, but you feel perfectly at ease right now, with your brothers arm around your shoulders and your new (and ridiculously handsome) friend sinking down into the other side of the booth and sliding a fresh glass across the table to you, eyes bright as he settles into a comfortable conversation with your brother.

✯✯✯✯

the time where someone makes the mistake of cutting in front of jake’s girlfriend in line…

The sun is glistening brightly over the ocean as you sit back against your boyfriend’s chest, a soft beach towel beneath you and a book in hand.

The waves lapping against the sand, and the familiar feel of Jake’s fingers combing through your hair lull you comfortably towards sleep, and you close your book, setting it beside you on the towel as you lay your head back against Jake’s shoulder. You eyes are closed as you feel your boyfriend’s arm come up to drape across your chest, caging you into his embrace.

“What are you doing, sweets?” Jake’s voice brings you back from the edge of sleep, his lips brushing across your forehead as his arm across your chest squeezes gently, his fingers drawing small nonsensical patterns on you collar bone.

“Just taking in the moment,” you sigh, shifting to meet his eyes, head still resting on his shoulder. His green eyes gleam with mischief as he meets your gaze.

“But I want to know who she picks,” he says, gesturing to the novel you had put down.

Embarrassment flushes through you as you think about the romance book you had been reading, with its drama filled love triangle.

“Y…you were r…reading it?” You ask, tripping over a few of your words, face burning as you turned your head back to the ocean, away from Jake.

“Hey,” Jake drops his face to your neck, nuzzling you and pressing kisses to the sensitive skin there, “don’t be embarrassed. It was quite an interesting story.”

“Y…you really think so?”

“Of course, y/n/n! I like everything you read.”

“O…okay,” you smile, getting distracted by the attention your boyfriend is lavishing on your neck. You squirm in his grasp as he blows into your neck, causing the two of you to start laughing, as you shake him off and then immediately curl back into his chest, yawning as you snuggle into him.

“What do you wanna do for the afternoon then, Sweets?” Jake asks, fingers going back to trace across your collarbone.

“I don’t know, but I know I’m going to need a coffee for it if it involves being awake,” you say, the heat of the day and the general sense of comfort you feel around your boyfriend contributing to your sleepiness.

“Alright then, baby, let’s get you caffeinated!” Jake says, putting your book into the tote bag lying next to him, before helping you up and shaking out your towel, “Call me selfish, but I’m definitely gonna be wanting your sweet company for a lot longer today.”

You giggle as you hold the bag open for him to deposit the now folded towel in, grinning as Jake uses the opportunity to brush a kiss over your nose. He grins back at you, taking the tote from your hands and slinging it over his shoulder, crooking his elbow so that you can hold his arm.

You snuggle in as close to his side as possible while walking, letting him lead you toward the beaches parking lot and his truck.

You climb into the passenger side after Jake opens the door for you, settling into the well worn leather seat, as your boyfriend starts the engine, pulling out of the beachside parking lot, through a neighborhood, and onto the little high street of your seaside town.

A few minutes later, you’re standing in line outside your favorite coffee truck. Jake has run to the restroom in the shop across the street, leaving you to keep your place in the line, which due to the popularity of the truck, wraps quite far down the sidewalk. You are standing quietly, content to just observe the going’s on of the little high street, when you feel more than see a body push in front of you in line, knocking you back and off balance. You stumble, bumping into the woman behind you, who kindly steadies you, smiling as you stutter out an apology, face flushing in embarrassment.

“No worries, my dear, it wasn’t your fault,” she says, shooting a dirty look over your shoulder at the line cutter, before smiling at you once more and going back to reading the magazine she’s holding.

You turn back to face the man now standing in front of you, as if he’d been waiting in line like the rest of you. You start to think about just letting him stay in the line in front of you, before thinking fuck it and clearing your throat loudly.

The stranger turns around, and the look in his eyes makes you wish you had just let him cut the line. But you’ve come this far and you can hear your brother’s voice in your head telling you to stand up for yourself and not let anyone push you around, so you lift your chin, and ball your hands to stop them from shaking.

“Yes?” The stranger grunts, glowering at you as if you were the one in the wrong.

“Y..you just c..cut in the line. It actually starts b..back there,” you say, pointing down the sidewalk to where the last person in line is standing. You’re trying to give him the benefit of the doubt, wanting to believe that he had just accidentally just into the line.

The guy just stares at you for a long moment, and you grow more and more uncomfortable by the second. You eventually drop your arm, and wait for him to step back out of the line.

“I…i…i…is it r…r…really,” he scoffs, exaggerating the stutter he puts on as he takes a step closer to you, staring down at you with a mena glint in his eye. “What are you going to do about it, huh?”

Your stomach drops as he crowds you, eyes welling with unwanted tears, which you try furiously to not let escape. You take a deep breath, something which he notices and smirks at, eyes portraying that he’s fully confident in his victory.

Just as you open your mouth to say something, you feel a familiar presence at you back, as your boyfriend slings an arm around your chest, pulling you back into his.

“Here’s what you’re gonna do, buddy,” Jake’s voice is all authority, as he stares down the other man, while simultaneously providing you comfort by letting his fingers stroke over your shoulder as his arm across your chest acts as a protective, comforting barrier, “you’re gonna back the fuck off from my girl, you’re gonna apologize, and then you’re gonna march yourself right to the back of the line and wait, just like everyone else is.

The two men seem locked in a stare down for a few tense moments, as your hands come up to grip Jake’s forearm. The line cutter holds strong for a solid five seconds longer before blinking and taking a step back.

“Fine, whatever.” You and Jake watch him as he walks away, not even in the direction of the end of the line.

You feel Jake’s arm tighten briefly across your front, before it fell away, one hand gripping your hand, spinning you around and into his arms. You hands land on his chest, and you stare up at him, struck breathless from the clear adoration in your boyfriends eyes.

“You okay, Sweets?” He asks, on hand coming up to tuck a strand of hair behind your ear.

“Yeah,” you sigh, and he searches your eyes for a few moments, no doubt making ure you were being truthful, before dropping his head to brush his lips against yours.

“Well aren’t you two just the sweetest.”

You pull away from Jake and look towards the voice, seeing the woman who you’d stumbled into. She was smiling, the skin around her eyes crinkling as she does. You smile back, slightly apologetically.

“I’m sorry again for knocking into you,” you say, still feeling guilty despite knowing that it hadn’t really been your fault. The woman waves you off.

“It’s no problem at all, dear,” she says, before glancing between you and Jake. Jake nods at her, silently thanking her for helping you out. She smiles back, eyes glazing over for a second.

“You two have a beautiful day, alright,” she says, before gesturing to the coffee truck’s open window, which you hadn’t even realized had gotten closer, till you were the next people in line.

“You too, Ma’am,” Jake says, hooking an arm around your waist, “now, let’s get you caffeinated, baby.”

✯✯✯✯

the time where someone makes the mistake of hitting on Jake in front of his girl…

🎶Slow Ride. Take it Easy🎶

You laugh, bright and open as you and Jake walk in to THE HARD DECK to the first strains of “Slow Ride” coming from the jukebox in the corner. When you look over towards the music corner, you laugh even harder as you spot your brother and Rooster grinning back at you, and the man next to you.

“Of course, it was them,” Jake laughs, and guides you towards the group of pilots who had quickly become your friends after Bob introduced you that first night at the Hard Deck.

When you reach the table, you sit next to Phoenix and Jake scoots in after you.

“How has everyone been?” You asks, shifting into Jake’s side as his arm takes up its usual spot around your shoulders. Your brother scoots into the booth across from you, and pushes your favorite drink towards you.

“Thanks Robbie,” you smile, raising the drink to your lips and taking a sip.

Much later, you and Natasha are coming back from the bathroom together, where you both had been freshening up after an intense match of darts between Jake and Bradley had left you both crying with laughter, which subsequently caused your mascara to run.

“Omg, look y/n/n,” Nat says, pointing towards the bar, where a fake busty blonde is currently trying to shove her boobs into your boyfriends face.

“Not again,” you complain, which causes Nat to laugh and loop her arm through yours, as you make your way through the throngs of bar patrons to your table. You keep you eyes on the blonde currently chatting up your Jake, although he remains completely un-responsive to her advances.

It’s only when she starts to brush her hand along Jake’s arm, and leans in the closest she’s ever attempted that you and Nat both stand up, and Natasha looks to you for a moment.

“You want me to deal with her?” She asks, rolling her shoulders as if preparing to physically remove the woman from the bar. You love your friend for being so ready to come to your aid, but based on the fact that regardless of Jake’s repeated dismissal of the blonde, this is the third week in a row that she has tried, even you and your non confrontational nature are getting frustrated. Natasha and Bob have dealt with distracting the woman away from Jake every other time she has attempted to put the moves on, but this time, you shake your head at your friend and motion for her to sit down again.

“No, thank you Nat, but I think I’m going to go over there tonight,” you say, the two drinks you had had earlier giving you a courage you normally didn’t possess as you push your hair away from your face and turn to walk over to the blonde to hopefully, finally get this woman to back off from your man, leaving Nat cackling gleefully in your wake.

Meanwhile, Jake drums his fingers in a nonsensical pattern on the bar as he keeps his gaze firmly off of the woman on his right, currently crossing her arms under her breasts, so that her tiny top strains to keep her breasts in.

Penny smiles at him as she slides his beer over to him.

“There you are, soldier.” She says, and Jake laughs at her, shooting her his signature grin as he lifts the pint to his lips ad takes a swig.

“Thanks a million, Penny Pie,” Jake says, jokingly using the nickname that the squad had given Penny when she and Maverick had announced to them that they were getting married.

As Penny walks away, the blonde, Jake thinks her name was Jessica?, moves closer to Jake, brushing his arm with her chest and blinking her heavily lined eyes up at him.

“Oh, the bartenders taken, stud,” she says, in a tone which suggests she thinks that she is saving Jake from a horrible heartbreak. He shifts away from her again and is about to ask her to please leave him alone, when someone beats him to it.

“So is he.”

A grin immediately finds its way onto Jake’s face at the sound of your voice and he turns around, immediately spotting you a few feet away, arms crossed over your chest, eyes glaring at Jessica and an adorable pout on your lips.

“Hi, baby,” he says, opening his free arm for you. You move towards him and wrap your arms around his middle, leaning against him. You kept your glare on Jessica, as the blonde looked between you and Jake, mouth slightly agape.

“Really?” She asks, tone biting and frankly mean, “this is who a stud like you is with?”

Jake frowns, arm tightening around you, as he opens his mouth to defend you. But again, for the second time that night, you beat him to it.

“Yeah, I am,” you say, smiling at the blonde who glares back at you, “and I’m also the person who he’s going to continue to be with, so you might wanna step aside and take your desperate attempts elsewhere.”

You flick your hand at her, still riding the high of your drinks from earlier and then once she leaves, you turn your head you look up at your boyfriend. Jake is gazing down at you, the look in his eyes heated.

“Baby…” he trails off, hand coming up to brush across your cheek, “that was…”

You smile a little sheepishly up at him.

“A little out of character I know,” you say, feeling a little dramatic and self-conscious for what you just did.

“…extremely hot.” Jake finishes his sentence, grinning as he brings you in for a kiss.

“I love you, Jake,” you whisper against his lips.

“I love you too, baby.”

The last thing you remember is Jake cracking a joke about "coincidences" as he dropped you off at your apartment. That night, the city pressed in heavy and strange, washed in neon and the pulse of distant sirens. The streetlights cast fractured shadows across cracked pavement, and every sound felt sharper than it should—car doors slamming, footsteps echoing, the nervous hush of neighbors behind closed blinds. A chill crawled down your spine as you spotted a nondescript black van idling under the flickering streetlamp, its windows dark, engine rumbling like a restless animal. You couldn’t shake the feeling of eyes on you, the sense that someone was cataloguing your every move, just out of sight—waiting. Even inside, the unease lingered. Your phone buzzed with cryptic emergency alerts, and your mind raced as you drew the curtains tight at 2 a.m., trying to believe Jake’s promise that things would finally calm down. They didn’t.

By morning, your world explodes into a mess of sirens, hazmat suits, and questions you’re not allowed to answer. It all happens so quickly: a pounding on your door, voices muffled behind respirators, neighbors gathered in the hallway, someone shouting about a containment breach. You barely have time to grab your cat and a pair of shoes before you’re hustled downstairs and loaded into the back of an ambulance. No one tells you what’s going on—just a barrage of questions about your recent contact, what you remember from the outbreak, if you feel any “symptoms.”

A paramedic leans close, voice clipped: “Anyone visit you last night? Coughing, fever, nosebleeds? Did you touch any strange animals?”

Your neighbor—Mrs. Lee from 3B—cries out, “Why are they taking her? She’s not sick!”

Someone in a hazmat suit jots notes furiously, ignoring your confusion. “Stay calm, miss. You need to answer everything. When was your last contact with the individual named Jake Muller?”

You try to keep up, but your words tumble out half-formed. You’re overwhelmed, frustrated, and getting more frightened by the minute as the questions keep coming, sharp and relentless.

Faces blur past, hands press you down onto a stretcher, and someone jams a needle into your arm. You lose consciousness before you can protest, your last thought a fleeting worry for your cat, cradled in your arms.

You wake up hours later in a hospital bed—needle still in your arm, sunlight slicing across white sheets, the air heavy with antiseptic and secrets. There’s a low beep from the heart monitor, the distant echo of hospital announcements, and the faint purr of your cat, curled up at your feet. For a moment, you think you’re dreaming—until you spot the armed guards at the end of the corridor. Not exactly subtle. Not even for the government.

Your first instinct is to panic, but before you can do much more than sit up, you notice Jake Muller lounging at your bedside—hair a little mussed, jacket slung carelessly over the back of the chair, dark circles under his eyes betraying sleepless nights. There’s a hint of dried blood at his temple—maybe not his—and a tension in his posture that says he’s been on guard for hours, even if he pretends otherwise. Boot propped on the windowsill, he flips through your latest chart like it’s the morning paper. The cocky, infuriating calm in his eyes is the only familiar thing in the whole sterile room. You glare at him. He grins, entirely too unbothered.

“You know it’s illegal to read those, right?” you snap, irritation bubbling up before you can stop yourself.

He shrugs, not even bothering to look up from the chart. “Rules don’t apply to people with mysterious blood types. Or their security detail.”

You huff, feeling helpless and oddly exposed. “Are you actually going to explain, or just keep making cryptic comments and drinking my Jell-O?”

He finally meets your gaze, the edge of his grin softening a little. “Fine. Short version? Someone ran your bloodwork after the outbreak. Turns out you’ve got some weird immunity to the virus. Didn’t you ever wonder why you didn’t mutate after that J’avo bit you?”

You stare at him, heart thumping. “I thought I was just lucky.”

Jake’s smirk fades for the first time all day. “You’re not lucky. You’re unique. The kind of unique that gets flagged in a thousand secret databases and has half of Umbrella’s leftovers drooling for a sample. They want to keep you safe. Or… locked up. Maybe both.”

Your mind races, memories of every strange encounter since the outbreak—the time you caught a stranger in a suit watching your building from a parked car for hours, the cryptic phone call where a voice simply said, “Be careful who you trust,” before hanging up—clicking together like puzzle pieces. The hospital visits, the weird men in suits, the random break-ins—nothing was a coincidence. “So now you’re my bodyguard? Is this, like, a government witness protection thing or…?”

He tosses your chart onto the side table, leans back, and folds his arms. “More like ‘keep her breathing and unkidnapped,’” Jake says. “And yeah, I’m supposed to be discreet. Which, apparently, means moving in next door and rescuing cats from burning buildings.”

You groan and rub your face. “No wonder you keep showing up everywhere. You really are stalking me.”

He flashes that cocky half-smile you’re beginning to hate less and less. “If I were stalking you, you wouldn’t know.”

A moment of silence stretches between you. The sounds of the hospital fade into the background, replaced by the low rumble of your own nerves. Despite everything, you find yourself almost comforted by his presence—by the way he pretends not to worry, by the way he keeps your cat close, by the way he acts like this is all just another day at the office.

You roll your eyes, but the weight of everything settles between you. “What now?”

Jake leans forward, dropping the bravado for the first time. “Now we keep living. I watch your back. You try not to die. We both pretend things are normal until they aren’t. And if someone shows up looking for a miracle cure?” He rests a hand over yours, serious for once. “We run. Together.”

There’s a moment where neither of you speaks. Even your cat, perched at the foot of the bed, seems to sense the shift—tail flicking, eyes narrowed at Jake like he’s the only thing standing between you and the next disaster. Outside, the sunlight shifts across the floor tiles, dust motes swirling in the stillness. The world feels strangely small, just the three of you in that sterile room.

You squeeze his hand, just once. “You’re still buying dinner.”

He laughs, relief flickering in his eyes. “Deal. But I’m picking the place. And you’re not allowed to order salad.”

Your lips twitch, a real smile breaking through for the first time since you woke up. It’s not much, but it’s enough.

A distant siren wails and fades in the streets below as your cat circles twice and settles between you and Jake, rumbling with a contented purr. Jake squeezes your hand again, grounding you. The world outside your hospital window is a mess—a tangle of government secrets, viral conspiracies, and threats you’re only beginning to understand—but with Jake beside you, maybe—just maybe—you’re ready for whatever comes next.

✨ Thank you for reading! If you enjoyed this, reblog, like, or leave a comment—your support means everything!

— Do not repost. Reblogs appreciated! Requests & feedback welcome!

******

Jake wakes up first - it’s wired into him to be up early

He doesn’t immediately get out of bed though, loving the feeling of Sarah in his arms. He listens to the rain and her small snores.

Sarah’s first and second alarms had already gone off, and she finally gets up by the third one.

“Glad to see you’re awake,” he teases, chuckling when she buries her head in his chest, groaning a little. “I need coffee.” Jake hummed and kissed her forehead. “Where’s your phone?” 

She rolled on top of him to grab it, typing in her passcode and opening the Door Dash app. Jake took it from her and she wrapped around his front like a koala, basking in his warmth.

Jake typed in his order and hers, then pulled his card from his wallet and typed in the information.

“Did you get one for Paisley?” Sarah mumbled into his chest. “No, she went on a breakfast date with Tyler at like 7:30.” She hummed an ‘okay’ and Jake felt her fall back asleep.

It doesn’t take long for the Door Dasher to get there with Jake’s black coffee and Sarah’s iced coffee with southern pecan creamer and a blend of two syrups.

“I don’t understand why you wanted iced coffee, it’s pissin’ and pourin’ outside. And it’s February.” “And?” She sipped it happily before kissing his cheek, “Thank you for getting coffee, Baby. I appreciate it.” He smiled down at her, “Of course, Sweetheart.” She pecked his jaw and moved to the couch to start the video game she had pulled up.

As Jake stirred some sugar into his coffee, a knock pulled his attention away. 

He glanced at Sarah, seeing that she was zoned into whatever was happening on the screen.

He went over to the door and opened it.

Jake nearly fell to the floor laughing at the sight in front of him. The guy at the door looked like a wet chihuahua, shivering slightly from being soaked to the bone from the rain while only being in a pair of track shorts and a hoodie. And the guy was built like a string bean, obviously a pole vaulter or short distance runner.

“You must be Kyle,” Jake concluded.

 Kyle looked him up and down, eyes widening a little at Jake’s muscles that were on full display thanks to the Navy tank he was wearing. “Uh, yeah, yeah that’s me. Is, uh, is Sarah here? I kinda need to talk to her.”

Jake hummed, nodding while taking a sip of his coffee. He swallowed, “Why?” 

Kyle pushed his wet hair off his forehead, “Look, we went on a date and it ended kind of rough. I wanted to apologize and maybe get a second chance.” Jake’s brows raised in amusement and he was about to tell him to just fuck off…

But Sarah came to the door, “Kyle? What do you want?”

Kyle sighed in relief, “Hey, Sarah, can I talk to you? In private?” He eyed Jake when he said that last part. “Why in private?” “I really don’t want your roommate listening to this, it’s not his business.” 

Sarah and Jake shared a look, silently communicating on how to play this out.

“No, whatever you need to say, you can say in front of him. I’m probably gonna tell him anyway.”

Kyle groaned, “Okay, fine.” He looked at her, “I’d like another chance at that date.”

Jake’s hand clenched around the door handle and sat his coffee down so he didn’t spill coffee everywhere.

Sarah sighed, a smile forming on her lips, “No. Goodbye.” She tried to shut the door, but Kyle stopped her by stepping in the doorway.

Jake’s body jerked forward but was stopped by Sarah’s hand on his chest, “We both know you could take him.”

He clenched his jaw, but backed down.

“Come on, Sarah. I think I deserve it after the way you just left last night.”

Oh, he really wants to get punched.

“‘Deserve’?” Jake spit through gritted teeth like the word burned him.

She scoffed, “Kyle, you showed up an hour late, not me.” “Seriously? That’s what you’re hung up on? It wasn’t even-” “Shut up, I’m talking.”

Jake proudly wore a smirk on his face, loving the authority Sarah held when talking to someone that made her feel small and uncomfortable the night before.

She shoved a finger in his chest, “Then you stared at my tits while we tried to make conversation. I told you the same story twice and you didn’t notice. Then-” She laughed, “Then you body shamed me in front of the restaurant, TWICE!”

“I wasn’t body shaming you! I was just looking out-” 

Jake had enough.

He gripped Kyle by the shirt, and got right in his face, “Unless the next words out of your mouth are ‘I’m sorry’, shut the fuck up and listen.”

“What’re you gonna do? Huh?” Kyle tried. “Do you really wanna find out?”

Sarah patted his back and Jake put him down.

“Kyle, I didn’t even want to go on the first date I had with you. So, I’m glad it went poorly, because it showed me who you really are. Have the day you deserve.”

Just then Paisley came up to the door, a smirk on her face at the scene in front of her.

She looked at Sarah, “Are you two still friends?” 

Sarah smiled, “Nope.”

Paisley kept her eyes on Sarah and tossed her coffee on Kyle, “Great to see ya, Kyle!” She moved past her roommate and brother, glancing back at the runner, “Oh and don’t worry, it’s decaf.”

The blonde sees the rolls and grabs one, and she quietly gets her brother’s attention “Hey JT!” He looked at her and she tossed it to him.

“Sarah, I- look, I know you’re already insecure and I just- HMPH”

 Jake shoved the roll in his mouth, “Looks like you need it. Carbs give you energy.”

He pulled Sarah to his side by her waistband. 

She gave Kyle a sickly sweet smile and a cute wave before going back to her game. 

Jake gave him a cocky grin, “Byyyyee Kyyyle.”

And when Kyle tried to step forward, Jake slammed the door, listening to the pained groan as it collided with Kyle’s forehead. 

He waited for the electronic lock to lock before moving to the couch and relaxing with his girl as she pulled up Minecraft. “Wanna build a house with me?”

Her eyes were bright as she sipped her coffee and held out a controller to him. He took it. “I’d love to.”

After a moment, Jake had to ask-

“Really, him?”

She snorted, “Shut up.”

“I’ve used toothpicks thicker than him.”

They both laughed and continued to build their little Minecraft house together, Paisley snapping plenty of photos.

*********

thank you so much for reading!! i hope this was enjoyable!

I do have a pinterest board set up for this, just to help me get into the vibe (one is to help with future parts, one is only for the current parts)

SO

if you want to check it out and get more of a feel for the dynamic going on---- you can click right --->   here

Like mentioned in the last one, feedback is greatly appreciated!

and my asks are open, feel free to request what you would like to see next while i’m working on the next part!

<3 <3 <3